(This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure statement.) The time between New Year’s Day and Easter is the longest of the school year. My student teaching advisor told us this before sending us out to classrooms. (She also told us not to smile until Thanksgiving. But that’s another tale.) Sure enough. No matter

“I hate school!” Only a couple months into our first year of homeschooling and the negative comments had started. These weren’t really much different than what I heard when my kids were in a traditional school. We struggled through that first year, dragging ourselves to summer break. I don’t tell you this to discourage you,

Summertime is here. Yet many of us still want our children to continue learning. What better way to learn than getting our hands dirty? Dirty in the garden. A garden is full of many lessons from how a plant grows to cooking the harvest. Like so many good things, gardening can sound like one more thing

The other day my cat was stuck in a tree. He had no idea how to get out. How does that happen? He didn’t get to play in trees when he was a kitten. We lived in coyote country. Not just a few howls at night, I mean where coyotes wandered through the property during

Someone once said, “If you’re not sure where you’re going, any train will get you there.” Recently I took a train trip to New York City. I knew where I was going and what train to use to get there. I had a specific destination. I even had a specific destination, my hotel, once I

(This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosures for more information.) It amazes me that preschool has come to dominate much of the education conversation. The media has become a PR outlet for those who advocate formal, away-from-home preschool experiences. Based on vague notions and buzzword, such as “ready to learn,” parents are clamoring for

This post contains affiliate links for which I may receive compensation. Please see my disclosure statement. I’m surprised at the number of back-to-school comments, or not-back-to-school in the case of homeschoolers, I saw on Facebook this morning. It’s mid-August. Why so early? Not only are school-aged children heading to the school building, but so are many

Too often “the classics” of literature are considered too old and too difficult for our children to tackle. As our kids’ teachers, we try to put on a happy face and tell them they’ll love it. If we’re honest with ourselves and our children, we have to admit we used Cliff Notes when during our

Our family traveled a lot when I was growing up. My dad’s job moved us around the country and Dad made sure we visited important sites in each area. Now I often say I learned more on the road than in the classroom. Not all families are blessed to move or travel around the country.